Recorded with expensive gear and
high-quality cables, yes, but no Neve consoles or
Studer tapes involved. Sorry to disappoint you. ;)

I didn't just want to get the
samples out of this machine, I wanted to capture and
simulate the dynamic range of the device - which had
an impressive -76dBfs noise floor.

Even though it was a one-shot
machine, the idling noise was loud enough so that a
close listener could really hear the samples fade
into the noise floor differently at changing
velocities.

Others have sampled D4s before, but
they usually just capture one loud sample and scale
its volume down for lower velocities. Which also
lowers the volume of the noise floor being played
back, and thereby distorting the dynamic behavior of
the device. Might sound cleaner at lower volumes,
but not authentic.

Younger ears used to ultra-sterile
digital samples might find these sounds a little
grungy and fuzzy, I find that as well. But it's not
a harsh or evil fuzz, it's actually a very warm and
pleasant hiss, and may just be what's missing in oh
so many modern productions.